REJECTION OF WHITBY VILLAGE GREEN APPLICATION AS NOT BEING AS OF RIGHT UPHELD BY THE HIGH COURT

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Civil Sanctions Regime Back On Track

In August DEFRA’s website made the following announcement about the introduction of civil sanctions into the environmental permitting regime:

“We updated you in February about a delay in progressing the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations, pending a cross Government position on civil sanctions for England more generally before measures in specific sets of regulations are taken forward. While this has been resolved, we are now having to satisfy additional scrutiny requirements and expect the regulations now to be laid in the Autumn in England and Wales, coming into force on 6 April 2012 ...”.

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The promptness requirements in non-EC law case

On 8 September 2011 David Elvin Q.C. (sitting as a Deputy High Court judge) refused permission for judicial review in the case of R (Macrae) v. Herefordshire District Council (unreported). David Elvin Q.C. rejected the contention that the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) in C-406/08 Uniplex (UK) Ltd v. NHS Business Services Authority (“Uniplex”) could apply to claims which did not raise an issue of EU law and that the Claimant consequently had to show that he had issued his claim promptly.

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“Dark” and light – as a planning issue

On 13 October 2011 the Infrastructure Planning Commission issued a decision and statement of reasons on the first project it has determined. It approved Covanta Energy’s 65-megawatt Rookery South energy from waste facility, proposed for a former brick clay extraction pit near Stewartby in Bedfordshire. The decision follows a six month examination of the application by a panel of three Commissioners.

One aspect of the decision which may not get much attention is the Panel’s consideration of the issue of lighting.

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